Charges of murder while committing robbery and two counts of attempted armed robbery have been filed against a Gary woman who was wounded during the incident that also left a man dead.

Darianna Antwanette Hamblin, 21, of the 3600 block of West 20th Place, Gary, arrived at Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus with several gunshot wounds after Gary police were called at about 7 p.m. Sunday to the 3500 block of West 20th Avenue, for a homicide victim identified as Brandon Johnson, 22, of Gary.

Hamblin is charged with killing Johnson while committing or attempting to commit robbery.

Two men told police that a woman and man had tried to rob them as one of the men tried to purchase a 2008 Chevrolet Impala that was advertised for sale on Craigslist. The prospective buyer and the seller had agreed on a purchase price of $3,200. After withdrawing money from an ATM, the men traveled to West 20th Avenue, where a woman called and said she was at a house down the street and the car was in the garage in the back, according to court documents.

The woman met them at the driveway. As the woman and the two men started walking to the garage, a man appeared, grabbed one of the men and put a handgun to his chest and stomach area, the probable cause affidavit states. The man demanded money, and the first victim dropped to his knees, threw his wallet to the ground and put his hands on the ground. Police found the wallet at the scene.

The second man told police when his friend tossed his wallet on the ground, the gunman turned toward the wallet and the second victim drew his own handgun, records state. The second man told police he was able to move the assailant's gun out of the way and fire at the gunman until he fell, records state. The man told police he heard his friend tell the woman, "Don't shoot," and then shot at her, records state. Both men told police they saw the woman with a gun in her hand, the affidavit states.

The men told police they went to a nearby church and called 911 to report the incident. The second man recovered a gun from one of the two shooters and put it in the car, where police found it.

When police spoke with her at the hospital, Hamblin said she saw Johnson, whom she identified as her cousin, and a second man walking toward the rear of the residence and thought they were going to smoke marijuana, records state. She said she heard gunshots, ran toward Johnson and was shot. She denied having a handgun and said she didn't see who shot her, records state.

Gary Police Lt. Tom Pawlak said Monday the men who fired the shots did so in self-defense, because the man and woman were trying to rob them.

Both victims picked Hamblin out of a photo lineup as the person they saw holding a gun during the incident, records state.

A version of this article appeared in print on December 24, 2015, in the News section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Woman charged in cousin's shooting death - Gary" —
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